Peacemaker

"Peacemaker" by Alan Edward Nourse is a science fiction story of a man named Flicker, who tries to talk to a dangerous alien group. It's about how hard it can be to get along with others, wanting to speak peacefully, and fighting to stay alive when others want to hurt you. In the book, Flicker gets taken onto an alien ship, where he finds out the aliens think he’s a danger and think he needs to be killed to keep them safe. Even though they're mean at first, Flicker tries to find a way to talk to them and warn them to stay away from his people. While he's stuck on the ship, he has to be clever to use the aliens' weak spots, which turns into a risky and dangerous game hidden in the ship. As things become more tense, Flicker feels forced to use violence, which makes him question whether he can still be a peacemaker when he needs to protect himself, making him think about when it's right to live together peacefully and when it's right to fight back.